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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27157168">(Ir)Regular</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElAlmaDelMar/pseuds/ElAlmaDelMar'>ElAlmaDelMar</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A/B/O/tober 2020 [22]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, suppressants</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:09:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,644</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27157168</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElAlmaDelMar/pseuds/ElAlmaDelMar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"What if we have more than one person hit their cycle at once?"  </p>
<p>"There's only four of us, and Usopp's a beta."  She shrugged.  "I doubt it's going to come up."</p>
<p>A/B/O/tober Day 22: Triggered cycles</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Roronoa Zoro/Sanji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A/B/O/tober 2020 [22]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947415</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>195</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>A/B/O/tober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>(Ir)Regular</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Merry smelled new, like fresh sawdust and pitch and possibilities. She had far more room than the little dinghy Zoro and Luffy had been sailing in, or the daysailer Nami had stolen from Buggy's goons — actual multiple cabins, storage room, gun decks. The whole shebang.  It made Zoro feel like he was actually part of a crew, and not just hanging around with a wide-eyed dreamer.  </p>
<p>He watched Nami hang her sign on the door of the forward storage room.  <i>Cycle room - keep out when in use!</i>  "Is that going to be enough?"  </p>
<p>Frowning, she turned to look at him.  "What do you mean?  Like, are you thinking Luffy's going to break down the door while you're in heat or something?" </p>
<p>The thought would have been chilling if it weren't so alien to everything Zoro had seen of Luffy to date.  "Nah, nah, not that, just.  What if we have more than one person hit their cycle at once?"  </p>
<p>"There's only four of us, and Usopp's a beta."  She shrugged.  "I doubt it's going to come up."</p>
<hr/>
<p>A month later, Zoro was in the cycle room for his clockwork heat. Ever since he'd presented, it had been unfailingly regular; he could know practically to the hour when the first symptoms would start, and how long he'd have from that point until he started coming apart at the seams. It was a useful trait. </p>
<p>So this was hardly unexpected.  He'd had enough time to have lunch with the crew — his heats always started in the morning and ramped up midafternoon — and to make sure watch was covered before he locked himself down here, and now he paced restlessly in the small space, too agitated to meditate and too uncomfortable to train productively.  All his senses were on hyperalert — he could hear Luffy abovedecks, telling jokes with Usopp, could feel every seam of his clothing, and could smell… </p>
<p><i>What?!</i>  He whirled as the scent hit his nose, and more importantly, his stupid instinct-driven brain.  He could smell <i>alpha</i>, and so close!  Practically in the cabin with him, fucking <i>shit</i> the goddamn pervert cook had to be right ouside the goddamn door! </p>
<p>Before his higher brain functions could remind him this was a terrible idea, he stormed over to the door and ripped it open with a snarl.  "What the <i>fuck</i> are you doing lurking out there?" he snarled at their newest crewmate, who was indeed very nearly outside the door, wide-eyed at Zoro's sudden appearance.  "You'd better not have any funny ideas, cook!" </p>
<p>The cook scrambled backward, his face crimson. "I— no, shit, I wasn't gonna — Nami-san told me I ought to come down here, she must not have realized—" </p>
<p>It took an uncomfortably long moment for the implication of those words to sink into Zoro's mind; his first (stupid, horny, heat-brain) thought was that Nami had told the pervert to come and "take care" of him, but the genuine awkwardness, combined with the crimson flush and way the cook's scent fell so heavy and thick around him… </p>
<p>"Oh, shit."  Zoro blinked and swallowed thickly.  "You're in fucking rut, aren't you?" </p>
<p>Sanji, back pressed against the far wall, nodded miserably.  "It just hit a little while ago." </p>
<p><i>Invite him in!</i> screamed Zoro's heat brain, which seemed to think that a strong, passionate, rutty alpha was the <i>perfect</i> companion to get through a heat.  Of course it did — that's what nature wanted, after all.  Heat was for breeding and making babies. So was rut.  </p>
<p>But he was the master of his instincts, not the other way around.  "I hope you're not expecting to share the space," he growled, ignoring the pang of disappointment in his chest (and other places).  </p>
<p>Thankfully (disappointingly), the thought didn't even seem to have crossed the cook's mind.  "No, no, of course not!"  He shook his head, and holy <i>fuck</i> did it rankle in Zoro's gut that Sanji was treating him much more like he'd treat a lady. What the shit was that all about — until now, the fucker had shown no trace of this sort of bullshit toward him.  "No, I'll leave you to it.  I… it's better if I'm the one out with the rest of the crew, isn't it? Other alphas and a beta, it's better if you stay in there. I wouldn't dream of—" </p>
<p>"Okay, okay. I get the picture.  Now scram, shit-cook."  </p>
<p>"This isn't likely to happen again," the cook blurted, still not leaving. "I'm — well, my cycles are really irregular.  We probably won't overlap again for ages, if ever."  </p>
<p>"Get. Out." </p>
<p>And finally, mercifully, Sanji left.  Once the cook was gone, Zoro drew a deep breath of the lingering rich alpha scent, then slammed the cycle room door shut and threw himself down on the  futon. There was no fucking way he was going to get through this without jacking off now, with that amazing smell filling his lungs.</p>
<hr/>
<p>"I thought you said this wasn't gonna happen again."  Zoro stared at Sanji, arms folded.  "What happened to 'oh I'm irregular, we'll never overlap' huh?" </p>
<p>Sanji looked downright miserable — if Zoro hadn't been able to smell him, he would have thought the cook sick rather than rutty. "Look," the blond growled.  "I don't fucking want this to be happening either."  At least he wasn't going all stammered explanations and trying to be inoffensive this time. "Do you think I planned this?"  </p>
<p>"No, but you're still stinking up my air. And you call me smelly."  Zoro bared his teeth at him.  "The fuck did you come down here for?" </p>
<p>"I was hoping you'd just gotten lost at the last port stop," Sanji sniffed in return.  "What a shame." </p>
<p>"You saw me at lunch, you <i>insufferable piece of shit cook</i>!" </p>
<p>"You're just that fucking good at wandering off, mossy child!"</p>
<hr/>
<p>The third time it happened, Zoro didn't bother to say anything; he just threw the door open and took a swing at the cook.  That turned into a scuffle, which turned into Sanji, a few hours earlier in his cycle than Zoro and commensurately more coordinated, pinning Zoro against the wall. </p>
<p>That time, they <i>did</i> wind up sharing the cycle room.</p>
<hr/>
<p>When Chopper joined the crew, they finally got an answer. "It's called reactive cycling," their new doctor explained in a piping voice.  "Sanji, where you were living  before, at the restaurant, were there many omegas working there?"  </p>
<p>"A few," Sanji conceded uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck.  "Not many, and they tended to go on suppressants.  Customers could get… uh. Difficult, sometimes."  </p>
<p>"I thought so."  Chopper nodded.  "Suppressants mess with the natural reaction, so likely back then you didn't have anyone to react off of and your cycle was more or less random. But now that you're living with Zoro constantly…"  </p>
<p>"Right, I get it.  And being up in each other's faces all the time probably doesn't help, does it?"  </p>
<p>"No. Even if you had a more regular cycle, that kind of habitual close contact could bring your two cycles into alignment."  </p>
<p>Sanji lit a cigarette, ignoring Chopper's disapproving scowl.  "Well, that's some shit news. So this is just gonna keep happening, then?"  </p>
<p>"Most likely."  Chopper sounded regretful.  "You might be able to avoid it if you stay well away from Zoro beginning a few days before his cycle, but at this point… even that might not be enough. You're still on the same ship and you can't avoid his scent. And if another omega joins the crew…"  </p>
<p>"I could, what, wind up cycling twice as often?"  </p>
<p>"It's not impossible."  Chopper sighed.  "You're one of the most extreme cases I've heard of." </p>
<p>"Well, shit.  I guess it's suppressants for me, then."  Sanji frowned. "Hate the things, but the crew can't afford to have us both out of commission at the same time every month."  </p>
<p>"I can mix up something for you that should have minimal side effects," Chopper offered.  </p>
<p>"Yeah, you do that."</p>
<hr/>
<p>The next time Zoro went into heat, Sanji didn't join him. And to his own startlement — he was disappointed.  Last time, when they'd fought and Sanji had pinned him and then fucked him silly on the cycle room futon, that had been… well. Pretty great, actually. The cook was a better lay than his weird heart-eyes antics suggested. And having company through the heat rather than trying to get through it alone, that had been a lot more pleasant. </p>
<p>But Sanji was right, he told himself, pacing the room and trying to pretend like the old, soft sweatpants he wore weren't getting soaked through with slick.  They couldn't afford to be both down with their cycle at the same time. Luffy needed at least one of his strongest fighters at his side for whatever happened.  The Grand Line was a dangerous place.  Sanji had to be there when Zoro couldn't be, so that Zoro could be there when Sanji couldn't be.  </p>
<p>It made sense.  It was objectively correct.  It didn't stop him missing that lean, powerful body over his, the muscled thighs pressing his apart, the way Sanji had focused dedicated attention on every inch of his skin even through his own haze of rut.  </p>
<p>As the light faded, there was a knock on the door, and Zoro perked up.  He could smell— </p>
<p>Sanji stood outside the door, hands in his pockets. </p>
<p>Zoro sniffed at him.  "You aren't in rut this time," he said, confused.  Glad.  "Those suppressants Chopper gave you, they're working."  </p>
<p>"Yeah, they are."  The cook met his gaze, gave him a crooked grin.  "But I figured… well.  You seemed to like my company last time. And maybe—" </p>
<p>"Get the fuck in here."  Zoro grabbed his stupid tie and tugged him forward.  </p>
<p>"That's what I thought," Sanji said, grin widening as he swept forward into Zoro's arms.  </p>
<p>Just because he wasn't in rut didn't mean he couldn't be very, very good to Zoro.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Come chat with me on my <a href="https://discord.gg/SWVYBBn">Discord server</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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